Everywhere you look, from magazines to television commercials; there are skinny women, and wiry men who are meant to be role models for physical health and perfection. The lie has been so set into the minds and hearts of young people, that many are punishing their bodies with crash diets and eating disorders in order to gain that physical perfection they believe will get them the attention they crave. This is incredibly dangerous.

Crash diets do exactly what they sound like they do—they make you crash, either physically or mentally. You make yourself think that if you can’t get this diet to work then you must be a failure so you might as well keep eating and sitting around. Or, the crash diet can be so bad on your body that you physically crash, collapse, experience serious physical illness or conditions related to malnutrition, dehydration, and loss of vital proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Crash dieters deny themselves certain foods, or food altogether, which is only healthy if the foods they are denying themselves are fatty junk foods. Most crash dieters stop eating meat without replacing it with protein supplements, which allow the body to keep functioning smoothly.

Dieting with the advice and supervision of a professional (nutritionist, dietician, or your primary care physician) is much better for your health because you aren’t denying your body the things it needs to burn the weight naturally.

If you want to diet, do it the right way. Lose the weight naturally by dieting smart. Make sure to eat fresh foods, cut back on sugars and fats, drink plenty of water, and supplement using herbal and protein supplements.